Breaking Ground
Identify a time in your life when someone made a big sacrifice in order to help you (a parent, mentor, friend, partner, etc). What did they sacrifice? How did that help you? How do you think about that person & their sacrifice today?
The Dig
This Sunday, we continued our series on the New Testament Book of Galatians.
Read Galatians 6:1-10. As Paul prepares to end the letter, he reminds these churches to embrace a vision of community defined by interdependence; balancing both the importance of individual accountability & mutual responsibility. While doing so,, Paul also offers a series of wisdom sayings that encapsulate two crucial ingredients for practically creating & maintaining such a community:
- Healthily addressing, correcting, & reconciling conflict when one person hurts another.
- Regularly practicing tangible acts of generosity that seek the good of others.
Take time to breakdown Paul’s instructions in both of these areas.
What does an interdependent community look like in your mind? How is interdependence different from hyper-individualism or codependence? Why are handling conflict correctly & generosity critical practices for forming such a community?
How does Paul seek to balance both individual accountability & mutual responsibility when it comes to addressing wrongs within an interdependent community? What internal postures does Paul warn the Galatians to look out for when they think about taking part in corrective or reconciling work?
What wisdom does Paul offer about practicing tangible acts of generosity? Why is this so important to forming & maintaining a healthy, Christlike interdependent community?
Reflect on how this passage might be speaking to you in this specific season.
Where are you currently helping to foster a community of Christlike interdependence? What are you giving to others within it? What are you receiving from others within it?
Where are you currently avoiding a conflict within your personal life or church community? Why? How can you apply Paul’s wisdom here to reconciling that conflict?
Where have you “grown weary in doing good” or waned in practicing tangible acts of generosity? How is that negatively impacting you & your community? How can you take a step forward in living generously in this next season?
Getting Out of the Hole
Take time each week to reflect upon the Sunday sermon.
- Read Galatians 6:1-10. Highlight & make of any language, images, or ideas that stand out to you from the passage.
- What wisdom does Paul offer in terms of handling conflict in the church? How does this help the church community reflect Jesus to each other?
- What role does generosity play in the church’s life together according to Paul? How does this help it live out Christ’s story in a tangible way?
- Where do you need to apply Paul’s teachings about conflict resolution & generosity in this season? How can they help you further live out Christ’s story in community?
Journal, reflect, & pray on how God might be speaking to you through each week’s teaching. Share your experience with your growth group next week!
Additional Resources*
Centered Set Church by Mark D. Baker
Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer
TheBibleProject.com
Coming Up This Week:*
March 29th: Join us as we continue working through the New Testament Book of Galatians!
* Please see mye3.org for details.